The present invention relates generally to a signal conditioning topology which is consistent with a methodology for converting multiple types of inputs including AC sensor signals to equivalent engineering units.
Although this invention is not limited to LVDTs or resolvers, these sensors will be used as examples to describe the operation and some of the benefits of the present invention. LVDTs and resolvers each generate a pair of AC sensor signals that together indicate position and/or angle. These AC sensor signals must be converted to their equivalent engineering units. Signal conditioning methods include separate anti-aliasing filter and demodulators for each of the AC sensor signals. This increases the cost, size and power consumption of the circuit. Additionally, signal condition methods include multiple signals that are not sampled simultaneously due to being fed through a common multiplexer, introducing a time skew error into the signal processing. For applications where AC sensors require multiple signals to compute position such as LVDTs and resolvers and the position may change rapidly, it is advantageous to have an efficient, cost effective means to sample the sensor's signal outputs within the same time-frame such that position slewing errors are eliminated.